nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, july 19, 2012)

Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

CBS (6.53 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.8, #1) was Thursday's top draw in total viewers and demos thanks to its mix of "The Big Bang Theory" (8.89 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.4, #1), "Two and a Half Men" (7.41 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.1, #3), "Big Brother 14" (6.26 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.2, #2) and "Person of Interest" (5.18 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T8).

ABC (4.84 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.3, #2) then took home the silver with the season finale of "Duets" (4.48 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.9, #10) followed by originals from "Wipeout" (5.04 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.6, #4) and "Rookie Blue" (4.99 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.4, #5).

Next up was FOX (2.73 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3) with the penultimate week of "Take Me Out" (3.13 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.2, #6) alongside repeats of "New Girl" (2.41 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T8) and a second "New Girl" (2.25 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.1, #7).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.73 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4) was out of the hunt with repeats of "The Office" (2.01 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T12) and "Parks & Recreation" (1.62 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T12) followed by new episodes of "Saving Hope" (2.99 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.5, #14) and "Rock Center With Brian Williams" (3.39 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.7, #11).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (0.74 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.3, #15) and "The L.A. Complex" (0.53 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.2, #16) on The CW (0.64 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" delivered a 0.3 rating while "Complex" posted a 0.3 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+7.69% - Rookie Blue
0.00% - Take Me Out
0.00% - Saving Hope
-5.88% - Wipeout
-10.00% - Duets
-15.38% - Big Brother 14
-41.67% - Rock Center With Brian Williams

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+23.08% - Wipeout (vs. Expedition Impossible)
+16.67% - Rookie Blue
0.00% - Rock Center With Brian Williams (vs. Love Bites)
-12.00% - Big Brother 14
-25.00% - Take Me Out (vs. So You Think You Can Dance 8)
-41.18% - Saving Hope (vs. The Office (Repeat)/30 Rock (Repeat))
-50.00% - Duets (vs. Wipeout)

In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):

In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 2.5/6; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 1.9/5; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.1/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.6/5.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.7/3; "Late Show," 0.5/2; "Nightline," 1.0/5; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.3/4 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (0.9/3). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/2).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.7/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.3/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (7/21/11):

CBS (6.25 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.7, #1) was the network to beat with its combination of "The Big Bang Theory" (6.31 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.5, #4), "Rules of Engagement" (5.03 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T5), "Big Brother 13" (6.73 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.5, #1) and "The Mentalist" (6.35 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T5).

A silver medal then went to ABC (5.48 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.5, #2) with fresh installments of "Wipeout" (6.49 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.8, #2), "Expedition Impossible" (4.62 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T5) and "Rookie Blue" (5.32 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.2, #8).

Next up was FOX (3.95 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.2, #3) with a new "So You Think You Can Dance" (5.09 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.6, #3) alongside a repeat of "Glee" (2.80 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T9).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.04 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) offered up repeats of "Community" (2.10 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.6, #14), "Parks & Recreation" (1.93 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T12), "The Office" (2.43 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T9) and "30 Rock" (2.26 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.8, #11) plus the departing "Love Bites" (1.75 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T12).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (0.89 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.4, #15) and "Plain Jane" (0.82 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.3, #16) on The CW (0.86 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Big Brother 13 (8.7%), Wipeout (0.0%), So You Think You Can Dance (0.0%), Expedition Impossible (0.0%), Love Bites (0.0%), Rookie Blue (-14.3%).

In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):

In In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 2.4/6; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.3/6; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.9/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.3/4.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.6/3; "Late Show," 0.7/3; "Nightline," 0.9/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.2/4 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.1/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.4/3 in 18-49) tied "Late Late Show" (0.4/2).

At 1:35 a.m., Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.7/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.3/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research